Definition
A 'governance framework' is a means for ensuring that knowledge within a system or group is effectively stored and utilised – this might be through the production of tools (such as voting systems), training or documentation. Common governance issues for online spaces (especially at large institutions) might concern collaborative decision making, ownership of user accounts, adherence to style guidelines or simple responsibility for contact forms.
In her book Managing Chaos, management consultant, Lisa Welchman has a good definition of digital governance which centres on the accountability of people within organisations:
Digital governance is a framework for establishing accountability, roles, and decision-making authority for an organization’s digital presence—which means its websites, mobile sites, social channels, and any other Internet and Web-enabled products and services. Having a well-designed digital governance framework minimizes the number of tactical debates regarding the nature and management of an organization’s digital presence by making clear who on your digital team has decision-making authority for these areas: strategy, policy & standards.
While this is a useful definition in many ways—centring the responsibility of known individuals within large organisations—it is not necessarily the most practical approach for smaller, fluid groups such as student groups or yearly cohorts, or course staff members. RadicalxChange (RxC) is a group that similarly focuses on governance frameworks, albeit with a more 'decentralizing' approach – primarily concerning "the ability to manage common resources fairly, and to make complex decisions in groups."
It is likely that a blend of large organisational documentation and accountability, combined with more flexible approaches to (or tools for) decentralized decision-making will be most useful in the context here.